26/08/2018

An unprecedented first stage

The Grand Depart of the Haute Route Alps was given this morning by Madam Catherine Julien- Brèches, Mayor of Megève, and Mr Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice, the cities of, respectively, the Grand Départ and the finish of this eighth edition.

Before counting down to the start, Madam Catherine Julien-Brèches shared a few words with the peloton: “I thank you all for your presence at the Grand Départ of the Haute Route Alps. It is a little bit cold this morning but you will have a very beautiful day and you will appreciate the amazing landscape around you”, she declared. “I wish you all a wonderful race and I thank Christian Estrosi, the mayor of the city of Nice, who is going to welcome you in one week, for being with me today to set you off on the start of this first stage Megève – Megève. Ride safe and good luck for this beautiful race!”

Joining his counterpart, Mr Christian Estrosi wished the riders good luck: “I am glad to share few days with my family in Megève and of course, I take the opportunity to be with the Mayor of Megève who I thank for her warm welcome. It is a really wonderful race, and I am looking forward to welcoming you next Saturday in Nice. Before that, on Friday, you will visit our beautiful resort of Auron.”

He added: “It is a great race, and I know that you must push yourself hard to climb all these famous climbs, the most mythical alpine climbs, to reach the Méditerranée. So, I hope you all share a magnificent week, and I look forward to seeing you all in the heart of the Baie des Anges.”

After setting off from the Palais in Megève, the peloton rode the first 10 kilometres in a safety convoy before crossing the first timing mat of the day in Flumet. Riders then alternated between false uphill flat and flat sections until La Giettaz, where the first ascent of the day to Aravis really started.

Atop Aravis, young cyclist Tom Melot aged 14 was impressed by the riders: “I have stars in my eyes! I am on holiday here and I arrived on the course by accident. It looks quite tough but I’m looking forward to taking part when I’m older.”

With the stage still timed, the majority of the riders barely stopped at the feed station at the summit before riding down through La Clusaz and Le Grand Bornand to then take on another classic alpine col, the Colombière.

For French rider Philippe Piovano, an Haute Route veteran, the remaining stage was a discovery: “This is my eighth Haute Route including six times in the Alps. This is good, next there are the ascents of Domancy, Romme and Côte 2000 that I don’t know. Even if I have taken part in many Haute Route events, there are always some new cols. I am back every year because this is the best race! I have done a lot of cycling races but here you are immersed into it for a week, this is kind of magic. You can’t find other events like this one!”

After reaching the summit of Col de Romme on a meandering road through the forest, riders then gathered in small groups to ride 20km in the Arve Valley to Sallanches to climb the Côte de Domancy. Made famous by the victory of Bernard Hinault in the 1980 World Championship, the Côte de Domancy is only 2.5km long but has impressive gradients: an average of 9.4% with sections reaching 15%.

After this climb, the riders followed the road to Megève and left the Haute Route Village on their right hand side to climb the last ascent of the day up to Côte 2000.

At the head of the race, four participants rode together during the stage until Liam Holohan from the UK increased the pace at a few hundred metres from the finish line, located near Megève altiport. Liam Holohan took home the stage victory, only 30 seconds ahead of Tristan Cardew from Australia, 43 seconds on Christian Meier from Canada and 45 seconds on Carlo Fino from Italy. After crossing the finish line, Liam confessed: “I have not come here to finish second!”

In the Women’s category, Camila Maria Giannella won the first stage for her second Haute Route participation. The fastest Duo team in the Men’s category was Brao Caffè – Unterhurner and McPherson in the Mixed category.

Tomorrow, the peloton will get underway from Megève for the second consecutive day to reach Valloire via the cols of Saisies, Madeleine and Télégraphe.